terça-feira, 11 de agosto de 2009

Your Border Collies may not be able to handle your finances but scientists claim that dogs, man's best friend, have intelligence of 2.5 years old human toddler and can count and understand more than 150 words.

They use this intelligence to intentionally deceive their fellow dogs and people to earn their treats, canine researcher Stanley Coren said.

"Their stunning flashes of brilliance and creativity are reminders that they may not be Einsteins but are sure closer to humans than we thought," the researcher from the University of British Columbia in Canada said at the 117th annual convention of American Psychological Association in Toronto yesterday.

According to several behavioural measures, dogs' mental abilities are close to human child aged between 2-2.5 years, can count up to five and spot errors in computations.

The intelligence of canines is dependent on various factors including their breed, environment around them and training imparted by their handlers, he said.

"Border Collies are number one; poodles are second followed by German Shephards. Fourth on the list is Golden Retrievers; fifth Doberman; sixth Shetland Sheepdogs and finally Labrador retrievers," the canine scientist said.